The Best Healthy Banana Bread Recipe

This healthy banana bread is truly the best! It’s so moist, full of rich banana flavor and incredibly easy to make.

Your search for the perfect healthy banana bread recipe stops here! This healthy banana bread is everything you’d look for in a banana bread recipe:

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• An exceptionally moist and soft loaf.
• Naturally sweetened with ripe bananas and honey.
• It’s made with almost 2 full cups of mashed banana, giving this bread loads of rich banana flavor.

I try not to label recipes as, “The Best,” unless I really mean it. I confidently call this healthy banana bread the best. It has the sweetness, moisture and flavor that you are looking for in a loaf of banana bread, healthy or otherwise.

I can’t even tell you how many times I have tested this recipe to make sure it is just perfect before sharing it here. I’ve tried out different amounts of banana, butter, sweetener and flour. I’ve made this banana bread with and without milk. I’ve found the perfect balance of ingredients and can’t wait for you to try this healthy banana bread recipe for yourself.

Healthy Banana Bread Recipe Ingredients

You’ll love the simple ingredient list for this recipe.

• Butter: I like to use real butter even in healthy baking recipes because you just can’t beat the rich, buttery flavor that it brings to baked goods. In this recipe, I’ve used a modest 5 tablespoons.
• Honey: For sweetness. You can substitute pure maple syrup if desired.
• Ripe Bananas: Be sure to use very ripe bananas for the best banana flavor. You’ll need about 3 1/2 large or 5 medium bananas.
• Eggs: The eggs provide structure and flavor and help the bread to rise.
• Baking Soda: Helps the loaf to rise as it bakes.
• Salt: Enhances all of the flavors.
• Cinnamon: Complements the banana flavor.
• Vanilla Extract: For an extra touch of sweetness.
• White Whole Wheat Flour: This whole grain flour has a milder flavor and texture than regular whole wheat. Sometimes white whole wheat flour can be hard to find; you can substitute regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour if needed.

How to Make Healthy Banana Bread

This whole wheat banana bread is made in one bowl, except for mashing the banana. I always mash my bananas in a separate bowl using a fork. You can also mash the bananas in a stand mixer.

First, whisk together the melted butter, honey and mashed banana. Then, whisk in the eggs.

Once the wet ingredients are well combined, add the baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla to the bowl. I like to add the vanilla last so that I can use the same measuring spoon that I used for the dry ingredients without washing in between.

Use your whisk to mix the batter up really well before adding the flour. You want to make sure that there are no clumps of baking soda or salt left in the batter.

Finally, add the flour to the bowl. Use a rubber spatula to mix in the flour until it is just combined. Mix until you don’t see any more streaks of flour and then stop. Over-mixing the batter will make your banana bread dense instead of light and soft.

When I bake quick breads like this banana bread, I prepare my loaf pan by cutting a sheet of parchment paper to fit in the pan, as you see in the photo above. Lining the pan with parchment as well as greasing the pan will make sure that your banana bread comes out of the pan easily, without sticking to the bottom of the pan.